Karandeep Kocchar. Pic: PGTI
Ahmedabad, February 22: The tall strapping Karandeep Kochhar, who missed out on making it to the main field of the Asian Tour this week, showed his mettle at the Gujarat Open Golf Championship 2022 presented by Gujarat Tourism. Kocchar shot a stunning eight-under 64 which gave him the first round lead in the opening event of the 2022 TATA Steel PGTI season.
The event being played at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad carries a purse of Rs. 40 lakhs.
Yashas Chandra of Mysuru shot 65 to be placed second, while three players were tied for third place at 66. They were Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, Tapy Ghai of Gurugram and Jaipur-based rookie Prakhar Asawa.
Kochhar, second on the PGTI Order of Merit last year courtesy his two wins, had a quiet start after he bogeyed the first hole and followed it up with pars on the next five holes.
Kochhar produced a great tee shot on the par-3 seventh that led to his first birdie of the day and set him up for the rest of the round as he went on to add eight more birdies including a chip-in on the 15th and five conversions from a range of 12 to 15 feet.
Karandeep said, “The four events I played on the Asian Tour recently were a good experience for me as far as negotiating windy conditions is concerned. That helped my game in similar conditions today at Kalhaar.
“I would credit the birdie on the seventh for my turnaround today after a slow start. That was a key moment as it got me going for the day. The birdie on the 15th was quite satisfying as it is one of the toughest holes on the golf course especially with the wind coming into play today. So that too was a confidence booster towards the end of the round.”
Yashas Chandra, who hit it close through the day, was six-under through 12 holes before his first bogey of the day on the fifth. Yashas, however, ended the day well with two more birdies on the seventh and ninth.
Prakhar Asawa, making his debut as a professional, had 10 birdies against four bogeys during his 66 while Om Prakash Chouhan, who came close to winning last year’s edition, produced eight birdies and two bogeys. Tapy Ghai made an eagle on the eighth as well as five birdies and a bogey.
Among the Ahmedabad-based golfers, Anshul Patel was the best-placed as he shot an opening round of 73 to be tied 32nd.
Olympian and reigning PGTI Order of Merit champion Udayan Mane began with a 79 to be tied 98th.
